Dixon second as Power claims win in rain-shortened ABC Supply 500

Team Penske driver Will Power earned his
first NTT IndyCar Series victory of the season, extending his streak of
consecutive seasons with at least one victory to 13.

This victory came in Sunday’s ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway, the
2.5-mile track where he won for the third time in four years. Power’s
streak is second only to Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon, who has won
NTT IndyCar Series races in 15 consecutive seasons.

Driving the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet, Power was leading this race at
Lap 128 (of 200) when the inclement weather arrived. Power had taken the
lead from Dixon on Lap 115 and pushed the advantage to 6.1 seconds
before the caution waved for lightning in the area.

The victory gave Power sole possession of seventh place in career
victories with 36, breaking a tie with the legendary Bobby Unser. The
Australian said this win came amid “the toughest season of my career.”

“Absolutely over the moon to finally win a race this season,” he
said. “The guys working on the car, they’ve worked their (tails) off
this year – just had bad runs. Yeah, (it’s) awesome, awesome – great
feeling.”

Dixon finished second in the No. 9 PNC Bank Honda, giving him
finishes of second, second, first and second over the past month. The
strong run, coupled with the fifth-place finish of Team Penske’s Josef
Newgarden, tightened the championship chase, which has four drivers
within 52 points heading to the final three races.

Newgarden started the race from the pole in the No. 2 Hitachi
Chevrolet after Saturday’s qualifying session was rained out. He
expanded his series lead to 35 points as his closest challenger,
Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi, was collected in a first-lap,
multi-car accident in Turn 2.

The cars of Rossi, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato and
Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay came together approaching the
corner, and their contact collected James Hinchcliffe of Arrow Schmidt
Peterson Motorsports and series rookie Felix Rosenqvist of Chip Ganassi
Racing. There was a 45-minute red flag for cleanup, and all drivers were
cleared of injuries. Of the group, only Rosenqvist was transported via
ground to a local hospital for further evaluation. All tests were
negative and he was released late Sunday afternoon.

Rossi’s crew repaired the No. 27 MilitaryToMotorsports.com Honda, but
he was unable to gain any positions. He finished 18th, losing 19 points
to Newgarden.

“Unfortunately, the weather came and the race was called one lap
before we could gain another spot,” Rossi said. “We have a couple days
to rebound and go for race wins now – that’s all that matters.”

Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud of Team Penske jumped from
third to first on the opening lap and led a race-high 64 laps, but he
settled for a third-place finish in the No. 22 Penske Truck Rental
Chevrolet. Pagenaud is 40 points out of the series lead, Dixon is 52.

“It’s good to be in it,” said Pagenaud, who like Dixon (five times)
and Newgarden is a former NTT IndyCar Series champion. “There’s three
races to go, all the chances in the world for our team. We’re going to
keep pushing; that’s what we’ve been doing. Just keep pushing, doing
what we do, try to win races. That’s going to be the name of the game
until the end. I love it.”

Series rookie Santino Ferrucci tied his career-best with a fourth-place finish in the No. 19 Cly-Del Manufacturing Honda.